AFCON: Ivory Coast coach admits frustration after Egypt defeat

Ivory Coast national team coach Émerse Fae was left a frustrated man after they were knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations at the quarter-final stage in Morocco on Saturday.

In the fixture played in Tangier, Mohamed Salah stole the show as he scored and provided an assist as Egypt withstood the Ivorian wave to snatch a dramatic 3-2 victory, and a ticket to the semi-final stage.

‘I regret conceding first goal so early’

“We are frustrated by tonight’s result. We had prepared our players to face this Egyptian team, but we made far too many mistakes at key moments in the match to hope to eliminate them,” said Fae as quoted by CAFOnline.com.

“What hurts most tonight are those mistakes. It took us some time to get into the match. I regret conceding the first goal so early, as well as the second. We reacted well by coming back to 2-1 before halftime.

“But the third goal put us in trouble. It’s hard to explain these lapses in concentration. We will continue to work to prepare for the World Cup.”

The defeat means Ivory Coast will not be able to defend the AFCON title, while for Egypt they will proceed to face Senegal in the last four.